COLEOPTERA : ARRANGEMENT. 343 



to decorate the head-dresses and necklaces, as well as for 

 ear-rings, &c. ; and I have seen, in large warehouses in 

 London, entire dresses decorated with the elytra of the 

 Buprestis chrysis. The larvae of the Coccinellidce are emi- 

 nently serviceable in checking the swarms of Aphides, whilst 

 the Silphidce, and many other insects, by feeding upon de- 

 caying vegetable and animal matter, are active agents in 

 keeping up the regular succession of changes in the creation. 



The Coleoptera have been divided in different manners by 

 various authors. By Linnaeus, the construction of the an- 

 tennae formed the character upon which the sections were 

 established ; but the distribution more generally adopted by 

 modern authors is founded upon the number of joints in the 

 tarsi, as follows : 



Sect. 1. Pentamera, all the tarsi having five joints. 



Sect. 2. Heteromera, the four anterior tarsi having five, 

 and the two posterior having only four joints. 



Sect. 3. Tetramera of the French authors, having appa- 

 rently only four joints in each tarsus. 



Sect. 4. Trimera of the French authors, having apparently 

 only three joints in each tarsus. 



It is to be observed, however, with respect to the two 

 latter groups, that there is a minute rudimental joint at the 

 base of the terminal joint, which has been overlooked, and 

 which renders the names Tetramera and Trimera incorrect ; 

 still the general structure of the tarsus in these two groups 

 is so well marked, that I have not hesitated to adopt them; 

 and, secondly, that the section Dimera of Latreille, founded 

 upon an incorrect examination of insects supposed to have 

 only two joints (the Pselaphidai), is equally incorrect, and 

 must consequently be rejected. 



The following is the arrangement of this order given by 

 Latreille, in the last edition of the Regne Animal, the names 



